| Kate Mayhew | |
|---|---|
 Kate Mayhew as M'liss in c. 1878 | |
| Born | (1853-09-02)September 2, 1853 Indianapolis, Indiana |
| Died | May 16, 1944(1944-05-16) (aged 90) New York |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 1870s–1936 |
Kate Mayhew (September 2, 1853 – June 16, 1944), also known as Katie Mayhew and Kate Mayhew Widmer, was an American stage and radio actress. She first performed on stage as a four year old child at the Metropolitan Opera House in Indianapolis, and her first New York performance was at Niblo's Garden Theatre in 1873.
Mayhew became involved in producing plays, and owned the rights to M'Liss written by Clay M. Greene (adapted from a story by Bret Harte), in the 1870s. Mayhew performed the title role herself at the Grand Opera House in New York in September 1878, however, a legal battle over rights to the play eventually saw Annie Pixley take up the role to critical acclaim.
She performed in productions of Shakespeare, playing the roles of Juliet's Mother in Romeo and Juliet, and Gertrude, Queen of Denmark, in Hamlet.
In the 1890s, she appeared in Oriental parts.
She was long on Broadway in support of most of the well-known names. She made films, and also voiced characters for radio programmes.
One of her last Broadway appearances was in the 1934 stage production of The Farmer Takes a Wife with Henry Fonda and June Walker.
She was born in Indianapolis, Indiana and died in New York aged 90.
Mayhew donated playbills and other theatre ephemera to the New York Public Library in 1930.
Selected filmography
- Tongues of Flame (1924)
References
- ^ Hall, Roger A. (2001-08-16). Performing the American Frontier, 1870-1906. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-79320-9.
- "Kate Mayhew". North American Theatre Online.
- ^ Street, James (1938). "Professional Mothers" (PDF). Radio Guide. 7 (30): 2–3.
- ^ Vazzana, Eugene M. (2001). Silent Film Necrology (2nd ed.). p. 359. ISBN 0-7864-1059-0.
- Library, New York Public (1930). Report of the New York Public Library for ... The Library.
External links
- Kate Mayhew at the Internet Broadway Database
- Kate Mayhew at IMDb
- portrait gallery(NY Public Library, Billy Rose collection)
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